XxFly High, Hit the SkyxX
by xxxinubabyxxx
Summary: This is being moved from my Quizilla account to here. A Storm Hawks fangirl gets herself into a coma due to a driving accident and dreams of herself in the world of Atmos. Much better than it sounds. New chapter posted.
1. Chapter 1

_"My name is Aerrow, and I'm a sky-knight."_

The TV sounded next to me as I sat at the computer in my room. It was 7:00 on a Mondy; any Cartoon Network junkie would know what that meant.

**Storm Hawks**

My typing got faster as I wrote my messy good-byes to my internet friends.

"Oh! That's right, Storm Hawks is on!" My friend Clarissa 'said' before logging off. I smiled inwardly to myself and turned over to my television. The opening credits had just finished, and Aerrow flew around dodging and avoiding fire from other members of the squadron.

"The Age of Heroes, how I missed thee!" I said happily to myself. It was the night that the Storm Hawks marathon was to premeire, and that meant thet the series was starting over. I loved the first episode, but not for the reason most people would think. I heard the noises of messages popping up on my computer screen, and I could only imagine all the Aerrow fangirls squealing. "But where's _my_ favortie?" I whined. I was becoming impatient. I wasn't one of those screaming fangirls who fell for the first guy who popped on the screen. No. I found a different guy to squeal over.

"Gotcha sky-knight." he said menacingly, and a high-pitched scream was emitted from my mouth.

"Oh my GAWD, it's Stork!" I yelled so loud, that I was sure the green merb could hear me through the barriers of my television set. Stork, the green merb on the Storm Hawks was my favorite character. Sure, he seemed a tad scary in his first debut, but her really was jsut an adorably paranoid merb. I stayed tuned to the show; as each episode passed, my attention was focused only on Stork. "OOOH! I love Stork!" I exclaimed. Unfortunately, someone just so happened to be standing outside my door.

"Are you talking about the green merb who is the carrier piolot of for the Storm-"

"Dad! Please, stop...you have no idea what you're talking about!" My dad chuckled at my fruitless attempts at getting him to be quiet. I had tried to explain to him what the basics of Storm Hawks was before, but it didn't go too well.  
He chuckled again; his head shook from side to side.

"What am I going to do with you?"

"Oh get out of here old man." I said jokingly, and my father left while closing the door behind him. I heard him mumble something like 'young girl.' Once again, my attention was on the TV. Another repeat was on: The Black Gorge. I really liked this episode, because it was almost Stork-centric.

_'Man...I wish that _I_ could be part of the Storm Hawks.'_ I thought to myself as I watched yet _another_ episode of Storm Hawks.

* * *

My hair was whipping around my face as I flew through the sky. I swirved and dove through the atmosphere on my own air skimmer. It was almost as great as I had imagined. That soothing mist felt so nice too. Wait, _mist_?!

* * *

I opened my eyes only to close them again.

"Jayme, get out of my room!" I yelled to my younger sister. Her laughter echoed in my room even as she dropped the spray bottle and bolted out. Sitting up, I groaned. "What do you want?"

"Dad said you have to get ready to go driving!" Jayme called to me, and I groaned again.

"Get up you nocturnal teenager!" came the booming voice of my father, and I bolted upright. One of my eyes was closed with sleep, and the other focused on my door.

"What?" I called.

"Go hop in the shower, and get ready for driving!"

* * *

I let the warm water wash away my drowziness. My eyes were both shut tight as the water dripped down from my face. If it weren't for the fact that I had to leave soon, I would have let myself get lost in the warm water. I was finally dressed and clean and walking downstairs.

"I feel _good_!" I squealed. "I'm all _clean_!"

"Good, now are you ready to go driving?" my dad asked from behind me. I turned ot give him a cold glare, but the smile he had on his face made me laugh instead.

"Alright, alright." I laughed. "Let's go." I grabbed the keys and headed towards my car.

* * *

"Brake!" my dad yelled as my car was closing in one in front of me. The silver Honda slowly came to a jerking halt; my breath came in short gasps.

"Sorry." my voice was only a small squeak of fear.

"I told you to brake! When I say _brake_, I mean _BRAKE_!" Dad yelled. His voice echoed in my eardrums.

"Well, I'm _sorry_!" I snapped back; my voice rose with my growing anger. "I guess I'm to freakin' _incompitant_ to drive!"

"Kira, calm down!" My dad said.

"I can't! Just leave me alone!"

"Kira it's green!" It was then that I slammed my foot on the gas and moved the car into the busy intersection.


	2. Chapter 2

It hurt. It hurt a _lot_. My body felt like it was being punched and twisted into knots. My bones ached, and I was sure that quite a few of them were broken.

"It's okay sweetie, you'll be okay, just hand in there." The voice was soft and caring. My eyes painfully fluttered open, and everything was flooded with white. "That's it, c'mon...stay awake." the woman said, and I noticed that she was a nurse. I was in a hospital. Suddenly, everything flickered to blue. Sky blue. The halls of the hospital were gone and replaced with a cloud dotted sky. My body grew numb as the cold air whipped around me. What was going on?

* * *

People were rushing around the California State Hospital. Outside a room, a worried couple stood outside a room, watching their daughter through a window. Their other daughter sat crying silently nearby.

"Jake, I don't want you to teach Kira how to drive." the woman said, her gaze never leaving her child.

"Then how the hell is she supposed to learn, Jesse?"

"We'll get her a teacher! Jake, you're stressing her out!"

"She needs to learn how to judge distances instead of freezing up! I can help her!"

"No you can't!"

"Um, excuse me?" said a nurse, bringing the Lockhart parents from their argument.

"What is it? Is Kira okay?" Jesse Lockhart asked, her voice laced with worry.

The nurse's face grew solemn. "Well, she's not dead, but..."

* * *

I kept falling through the sky. My body was so cold; it was painful to have the wind rushing past me.  
Almost out of nowhere, I heard mumbling. It was almost inaudible against the rushing air.

_'Mom?'_ I thought as the soft murmur of her voice continued. She sounded worried. I tried to call out, but my throat felt strangely dry. My parents were talking to someone, but I didn't know who. After a while, the voices started to fade away as I continued to plummet through the sky.  
_'Mom...Dad...'_

He stood quietly at the wheel. His yellowed eyes darted around the sky. Four other beings sat at a table behind him. A boy with red hair and emerald eyes was talking lightly with a dark skinned girl. Her topaz eyes had a happy shine.  
Another boy, a blonde one, was boredly flicking a little pebble back and forth to a strange rhino like creature.  
Out the window, the green carrier pilot saw something falling.

"Uh...Aerrow?" he said, but the blonde had started a rant.

"Man! There's nothing to do around here! Can we _please_ go to Terra Tropica?" he whined causing the red-head and girl to look at him.

"Finn, would you stop whining? We're patrolling around for a reason." the girl scolded, and the red-headed nodded.

"Piper's right, Finn." he said. "We're still keeping an eye out for the Dark Ace."

"Aerrow..." the pilot said more urgently this time.

"Aw man." Finn pouted as he sunk into his seat.

"Oh, stop it Finn." Piper said. Just then, the strange alien rhino raised his hand.

"Junko, why are you raising your hand?" the red-head asked with a raised brow.

"Sorry Aerrow, but Stork needs ya." Junko stated while pointing at the green carrier pilot. Aerrow turned his head towards Stork to find out what was so important.

"There's something out there falling to its doom."

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

"There's something out there falling to its doom." Stork said in his usual pessimistic tone. The Storm Hawks all looked to see that a person was falling through the sky.

"Aerrow, we have to save that person!" Piper said frantically. Her topaz eyes stayed focused intently on the falling being.  
"Right." Aerrow said. "Storm Hawks, let's ride!"

* * *

My body felt numb from the cold, and the pain was gone. It felt as if everything had left me. Even memories of my past were gone. They only things I held onto were my name, Kira Lockhart, and the sounds of my parents' voices. I don't know why I held on to them; death was probably inevitable for me. I closed my eyes tight and waited for the ground to take me.

* * *

Nurses rushed through the hospital. Jake, Jesse and Jayme Lockhart all sat by Kira's beside waiting for her to wake up. The heart monitor started to erraticate, and doctors and nurses ran into the room.

"Her heart rate is picking up!" one doctor said, and the Lockhart family started to panic.

"What's going on?" Jesse asked, but one of the nurses had already started to usher the trio out.

"Don't worry Mrs. Lockhart. We're going to take care of everything." she said, and for a split second, a trace of disbeleif was shown on Jesse Lockhart's face.

* * *

My body kept falling and falling. Honestly, how long does it take for a person to fall to their death? In the distance I could hear a small beeping sound somewhere in the back of my mind. It kept on going faster and faster until it was just one solid sound.  
Just then, the beeping started up again just as something warm enveloped me.

"Don't worry, I've got ya." said a comforting voice. He sounded so kind...so familiar.

"Hey Aerrow, ya got 'em?" came another voice. They sounded so familiar.

"Yeah." said the first one. "I got _her_, Finn."

"Wait, _he_ is a _she_?" said the one called Finn. "That's awesome!"

"Let's just get her back to the Condor." My savior said, and we flew towards a large air ship.

* * *

Aerrow carefully lifted the strange girl off of his air skimmer.

"Aerrow, who is she?" Piper asked as she came towards them with Junko.

"I don't know, but she was the one falling through the sky. I'm kinda surprised that she wasn't screaming or anything." Aerrow said. His face held a bewildered expression.

"Well, let's get her on board. She probably needs rest." Piper said, and soon Aerrow and his squadron had the strange girl laying in Stork's quarters.

* * *

Her heartbeat had returned to normal, and the nurses were only cheking in every now and again, yet Jesse Lockhart stayed by her daughter's bedside.

_'Please Kira...wake up soon.'_


	4. Chapter 4

As consciousness slipped in and out, I saw visions of these three people. A man, a woman and a girl who looked a little younger than me. The woman had curly auburn hair that cascaded down her back and over her shoulders. Her chocolate brown eyes were red and puffy from crying, and her lips moved as she mumbled words I couldn't hear. The little girl looked just as terrible as the woman. Her soft brown hair was sticking out in different places, and her eyes were also red and puffy. Dark circles laced the bottom of her lids. The man was probably in the worst condition out of all the three. His hair was short and graying, but it stuck out in odd angles and looked as if it hadn't been washed in a while. His eyes were tired and drooping, and his face looked solemn. A single tear escaped his eyes as he mumbled just one word.

* * *

Piper was carefully steering the Condor towards Terra Atmosia for a well deserved break and some medical help for the strange girl that was brought on board. Stork silently walked out of sight towards his quarters. Since everyone else was doing fine, he thought it would be okay to tinker away at his new inventions to prevent a horribly early demise while on the way to Atmosia...or anytime for that matter.  
With the thought of death on his mind, Stork quickened his pace (and his breathing) as he made his way to his room. He threw himself inside and turned to place his back against the cold metal of his door. His chest heaving in and out as his labored breath continued.

"Someday I'm going to die from all of this." he muttered under his breath and made his way toward the small worker's desk in the corner of his room. He hadn't even noticed the lump in his bed yet. Metal trinkets and gadgets littered the small desk, and tools were scattered in different places. Stork sat down and grabbed a wrench and started to work with a twisted piece of metal. There was a shuffling over by the bed, and the green merb jerked his head over in the direction. His yellow eyes were opened wide, and his pupils darted around in a panic.

* * *

I started to wake up, and the images of those people left me. I moved my body around to find a more comfortable spot...wait...I'm wasn't falling. Did that mean I was back in my own bed?

"Gaaah!"

The scream echoed through the room, and I bolted upright. I sat there looking at a very peculiar, although familiar, person. He had olive green skin that was darker around his eyes, and yellow eyes that were widened in fear. He was tall, and a bit lanky, but kind of cute all the same.

"Uh...hi?" I said timidly, and the strange person gave out a frightened squeak.

"Stork, what's wrong?" someone said as they ran into the room. It was that same familiar voice of my savior. I looked over to see a red-headed guy who looked to be a little younger than me. His emerald eyes were shifting from me and the person called 'Stork'.

"Oh, you're finally awake." he said after a moment. "Come with me. My crew and I have a few questions for you." He held out his hand for me, and I took it. Stork stood there against the wall for a moment longer, and I stood there, causing the red-head to look at me questioningly. I held my hand out for Stork and smiled politely at him, but he flinched a little. He held his hands close to his chest and edged his way past me.

_'Wow...talk about paranoid...'_ I thought to myself before continuing on down some weird hall with my savior.

* * *

Aerrow walked the girl towards the main part of the Condor with Stork walking next to him.

"Hey Stork, why are you so jumpy?" Aerrow asked his fellow crew mate.

"Because...I didn't exactly expect to find some strange person in my room...probably here to bring upon an early demise." Stork said, the last part being under his breath. Aerrow chuckled a little having heard his friend's remarks and had grown accustomed to them.

"Don't worry Stork. I don't think she is here to hurt anyone." Aerrow, Stork and the new girl made it to the main part of the Condor, and while Stork went to take over with flying the large air ship, Aerrow led the girl over to the table where Finn, Junko and now Piper sat.

"So, I see you're finally awake." Piper said sweetly, and the girl looked over to her with drowsy eyes.

"Yeah...I guess." the stranger said. "Where am I?"

"You're aboard the Condor. Ya know, the air ship for the new Storm Hawks." Finn piped in, trying to impress the girl, but her eyes were on the green piolot. Now that she was really looking, she noticed things about him she overlooked earlier. He had small elongated cat-like ears that were perched on top of his head. One of his ears had two silver hoops in them. His green black hair was short in the back, but it grew in the front and framed his usually scared looking face. His body and limbs looks so frail that they could be snapped at any moment, but they somehow held the person all together.

"Stork." she whispered, and the carrier piolot's attention was jerked over to her.

* * *

I didn't know why, but I couldn't help but feel sort of connected to the one my savior called Stork. I slowly got up and walked over to him, and his body began to shake a bit.

"Hi." I said softly, and his shaking started to slow. He still looked a little nervous, so I just went out and said it. "I..know you from somewhere..."


	5. Chapter 5

The members of the Storm Hawks all stared at the girl as if she were some alien.

"How can you know Stork? It's the first time _any_ of us met you." Aerrow said with a raised brow; the others nodded in agreement.

"Maybe he just reminds her of someone." Piper pointed out, but the girl shook her head.

"No. If that were the case, then would you all seem so familiar to me?" Everyone stared at the stranger for a bit longer.

"Well, I guess you've been dreamin' about me, huh?" Finn said with a cocky smirk, only to be elbowed in the ribs by Piper. Junko snickered at his friend's punishment.

"Well...how about we talk about how you got here. Come sit down." Piper said while patting the seat next her. With one last look at the green merb, the girl went to sit next to Piper. Stork's yellow eyes followed her movements before returning to the skys as he flrew the air ship. The girl's eyes stayed on a particular spot on the floor.

"So..uh...what's your name?" Junko asked cautiously as if trying not to upset the peace.

"Well...since it's the only thing I can remember...my name is Kira."

"Wait, what do mean that it's the only thing you remember?" Aerrow said as he strode over to Kira. Kira let out a heavy sigh.

"I don't exactly know. I mean, I know that I was falling...but everything before that is blank. The only memory of myself is my name." she said, and Aerrow continued to stare at her...still puzzled.

"That still doesn't explain how you know us." the sky-knight pointed out, and Kira finally looked up from the speck on the floor of the Condor.

"Maybe...there was something about you in my past. That could explain how I feel conected to you." Kira said, a hopeful glint shone in her eyes.

"I don't know.." Aerrow began, but luckily Piper intervened.

"Why don't we wait till we get to Atmosia before we make any major decisions?" Aerrow nodded his head, and left Kira alone with Finn, Piper and Junko.

* * *

I sat there staring off into space after the red-headed boy left. He stood next to Stork and looked out the window of the strange air ship. Still didn't know everyone else's name, but I take it that once we land in this Atmosia place that all will be explained. I felt so weird sitting next to the others. I could feel their stares; it was as if they were waiting for me to delve into my life story or something. Feeling uncomfortable in the awkward silence, I decided to strike up a conversation.

"So," I began. "You guys know my name...sooo..."

"OH! Sorry about that. My name's Piper." The girl said. She seemed to be an upbeat type of person just by the way her warm smile was constantly on her face. I then looked over to the blonde. He was trying to give off this flirty face. His mouth held a would be sexy smirk, and his eyebrows darted up and down in a suggestive manner.

"What are you looking at? And what's with that funny face?" I asked with a giggle. I tried to hide it behind my hand, but the blonde was quick to take notice of his failure in 'flirting'. He made small inaudible grumbling noises that made my giggles even more prominent.

"So, uh...what's your name?" I asked, and his face lit up with a renewed happiness.

"Oh, me? I'm Finn, at your service." he said, and once again, his eyebrows wiggled up and down to show that he wanted me to like him. I laughed a little more at his behavior.

"I'll keep that in mind." I said, but started to laugh again when Piper glared at Finn for 'annoying' me. Now that I knew Piper, Finn, and Stork, that left the rhino looking man and my savior. The red-headed boy seemed to be a little busy, and I had a feeling that if I walked over there, Stork might have a heart attack just by my presence, so I decided on talking to the last remaining person at the table.

"I'm Junko." he stated with a smile and a wave of his hand.

I smiled in return. "Well Junko, it's nice to meet you."

"Hold on! How come she laughed at me and is all nice to Junko?!" Finn whined, and Piper sent him another agitated glare.

"Maybe because _Junko_ didn't try to flirt with Kira." Piper said with a tone of annoyance that made me giggle.

"Hey guys, save it. We're landing in Atmosia." the red-head said, and I felt the air ship tilt downwards ever so slightly.

"I suggest you hold onto something unless you want to die a horrible death." Stork said with a slightly panicked voice from over his shoulder. The large ship was picking up speed, and I couldn't grab onto anything fast enough, so I ended up flying towards where Stork and the red-head were. My back collided with the metal surround the cockpit, and Stork stared at me with wide eyes. The ship continued to plummet under it's piolot's jerky stearin, and my head hit something causing me to go into unconsciousness.


	6. Chapter 6

Nurses shuffled in and out of a white room; the hear monitor continuously beeping in monotone. The young girl lay stifly in the bed, her eyes twitching and fluttering. Each time someone stopped by, they looked down at the girl with saddened eyes. They never stopped watching. They never stopped helping. They never stopped praying.

* * *

White. All I could see was white. The three people of before weren't anywhere to be seen. No matter how hard I looked, they just weren't anywhere. The white grew dull and gray. Darkness was tainting my sight. What was going on? Where was I going?

_Kira_

What? Who said that?

_Kira_

That voice...I know that voice...

_Kira, wake up._

I know him. I know him. It's...it's...

**Aerrow.**

Aerrow sat patiently at her bed side.

_'That was a nasty fall she had.'_ the young sky-knight thought. Kira stirred slightly, her body stiffening a little. Her eyes opened a little, then started to flutter open. _'Finally, she's awake.'_

"So, that was a pretty nasty bash to the head. How are you feeling?" the red-headed boy asked, a warm smile ever present on his face. Kira carefully sat up and looked Aerrow dead in the eye.

"You...your name is..."

"Aerrow." he interrupted. "Sorry I never introduced myself before. I guess I was just wondering more about where you came from." Kira sat up a bit more to face Aerrow.

"That's not what I was about to say." she stated bluntly. "I already knew your name."

"How's that?" Aerrow asked with a surprised look on his face. His expression lingered in his voice along with something else. Suspicion?

"Well, I feel like I've been here before, or I know this place. It's hard to explain, because I know I've never seen this place in my life." Kira said in a sort of monotonous voice. Her gaze drifted downwards towards her hands. They fidgeted with the blankets of the hospital bed as she spoke. "Heck, even being in this hospital feels familiar. It's almost as if I've done all of this before."

Silence over came the room, but then Aerrow spoke again. "Well, maybe if you stay here in Atmosia, your memories will come back." Kira's head shot upo; her gaze was locked on the red-headed sky-knight.

"You mean...you aren't going to stay here with me?" she asked. Her fists clenched around the sheets of the hospital bed.

"Well, we can't stay. We have to protect all of Atmos."

"Then let me come with you!" Kira said; her voice was almost at a yell.

"It's too dangerous, Kira!" Aerrow said. His voice was rising, and he was on his feet. "We fight a lot and have terrible enemies." The room grew quiet. Tension was thick in the air. A soft knock came from the door, and a young medic came in with a sweet smile.

"Young man, I'm going to have to ask you to leave so that the young miss may change." Aerrow gave her a curt nod and started for the door.

"Aerrow, wait." Kira said; he stopped by the door, his back facing Kira. "Please, at least think about letting me go with you. I might be able to remember things if I stayed with you." The room was quiet except for the medic's weak attempts at shooing Aerrow from the room. Aerrow stood rigid at the door; not once did he turn to look at Kira. What was he thinking?

* * *

I sat there staring at Aerrow's back. For a while, he didn't say anything; his back didn't turn. The medic even stayed quiet.

"We'll put it to a vote." Aerrow said suddnely. "But no matter what the outcome," he continued and turned towards me. "you have to promise to go through with it."

I gave Aerrow a quick nod and said "I promise if you do." A smirk played across both our lips, and Aerrow let out a light chuckle.

"Sure."

He then left me to the medic's mercy...with all of her sterile seringes and gilp...needles.

After a quick check-out, the reseptionist behing the desk said that my "cute visitor" told me to just look around Atmosia and have fun. While I was walking around, I had met some of the people I had seen aboard the air ship.

"Hey! Kira, over here!" I heard someone call to me. I looked around to find Piper waving at me from a small shop selling brightly colored rocks. With a smile on my face, I ran over to the small shop.

"Hey Piper! What are you doing?" I asked, and my dark skinned friend flashed me a smile. "I'm trying to figure out what kind of crystals these are." She said before turning back to the colorful stones.

"Um...are they quartz crystals?" I asked. Piper just laughed her airy laugh and looked at me like I was joking. "No, seriously." I said. "Aren't they quartz?"

"No!" she said while giving me a surprised look. "I'm trying to see if any these crystals are energy crystals. Stork said the Condor was low on fuel." Now it was my turn to laugh. I mean, crystals that fueled an entire air ship? Was there really such a thing?

"Very funny, Piper. Now seriously, what are you doing?" I asked. My breathing came in short gasps, and yet Piper still looked surprised.

"Wait a minute," Piper said; the face of surprise seemed to be permanent. "are you saying you've never heard of an energy crystal before?" I shook my head; the stupid grin I had on was slipping. "What about a blazer? Icer? Shielder?" Each time, I shook my head. With each shake, my smile slipped further and further away until I looked grim. "Well, I going to have to teach you about crystals later." A smile spread across her face, but I stayed grim.

_'Yeah, if I can travel with you.'_ I thought bitterly to myself.

"Uh, Piper?" I started, but someone came bounding towards us.

"Piper!" Finn called as he skidded to a halt in front of us.

"What is it now, Finn?" Piper asked in an exasperated voice.

"Aerrow gasp needs us pant." Finn said between gasps for air. "He's pant called wheeze a meeting."

_'A meeting?'_ I thought to myself, remembering what the young sky-knight had said.

"Kira, are you goming?" I heard Piper say. I snapped out of my daze only to see that Piper was already a ways ahead of me; she was beckoning me to follow.  
I wasn't exactly sure of what I should do, so I just ended up running after Piper and Finn. Whith each step I took, I drew closer and closer to the decision that could very well change my life here.

* * *


	7. Chapter 7

Her body lay limp in the bed; the fluttering of her eyes had ceased. Nurses came in and out now and again.  
Her IV stayed still; the hear monitor played like a metronome. At least the poor child was still alive.

* * *

"Alright everyone." Aerrow said as he stood before us. We were on the Condor; all of us sat at the little roud table that was near the cockpit. Finn and Piper sat on either side of me. Junko was next to Finn. He had a little blue creature pacing on the table in front of him. His long ears layed limply from his head and his fuzzy taiil stayed erect. Out of nowhere, his ear twitched in my direction. Before I knew it, a ball of blue fur attacked me with a hug.

"Radaar!"

"Oh, don't worry Aerrow. He looks sweet." I said. My finger scrathced under the little blue...thing's chin and light puring sounds rumbled in his throat. "Hey there Radaar." I cooed.

"Uh, Kira? Try not to treat Radaar like a pet. He prefers to be considered our co-piolot." Aerrow said, and Radaar gave a defiant nod. "Anyways...I have called this meeting to vote...on Kira staying with us."

"Aerrow! Why should we vote on this? Kira doesn't know anyone around Atmos! Besides, it would be great to have another girl around." Piper protested. I started to feel bad about all of this. I was pretty much imposing on their life.

"Don't worry about it Piper." I said. "Aerrow is the leader, right?"

"Yeah but," Piper started, but I held up my hand to stop her. "Look, let's just put it to a vote. It'll be fair that way."

"Thanks Kira." Aerrow said. "Now...time to vote. Piper?"

"I want her to stay." she said. I gave her a greatful smile which she returned. Finn and Junko both said they wanted me to stay. Junko said that I was nice, but Finn just said I was cute.

"Okay." Aerrow said. "Kira, you already know my vote. Stork? What do you say?" All attention was directed towards the green piolot. His yellow eyes were widened; his gaze darted around the room.

"Uh...well.." he said softly. His hands were twisting and fidgetting in front of him. "I don't think she should stay."

"Why not?" Piper asked in a raised voice that caused Stork to flinch. "Yeah, why don't you want her around?" Finn chimmed in. I tried to calm the two down, but luckily Aerrow silenced them.

"It doesn't matter why right now." he said. "What matters right now is that wre've come to a decision." Everyone stared at Aerrow. Piper, Junko and Finn had a hopeful spark in their eyes. "Since the majority ruled for you to stay...you're stuck with us."

* * *

The young girl with light brown hair sat quietly in her seat; her eyes were wide and her mouth slightly open.

"Really?" she asked quietly, and the sky-knight nodded. A warm smile graced his features while an excited one spread across Kira's. "Oh thank you!" she yelled excitedly and tackled Piper with a hug. "I get to stay! I get to stay!"

"Hey, where's out hug?" Junko said while standing up.

"Yeah." Finn joined in. "We wanted you to stay too!" Kira laughed lightly at her new friends.

"Then get over here!" she said while holding her arm open. Finn joined in, and then Junko picked up the trio in a large embrace. While the four of them were laughing and hugging, Aerrow and Stork were watching.

"You know," the green merb started. "she could bring nothing but chaos and doom."

"Yeah," Aerrow said, his eyes never leaving the four. "But I think she's good."

* * *

The hospital was quiet except for the shuffling of feet as the nurses started shutting down for the night. Nobody noticed that Kira Lockhart's lips had twitched upwards into a light smile.


	8. Chapter 8

* * *

"Alright Kira, here's the room." Aerrow said after stopping outside a bedroom. Inside was two bunk beds and shelves and crates of the weird colored rocks. There was a little desk with colored powders, strange instuments and the weird rock. "Until we find you a room, you'll have to share with Piper."

"Oh, that's okay." I said cheerfully. "Piper and I'll have a lot of fun together." It was a little while after the Storm Hawks voted me as a new member of their 'family'. Piper and I automatically got along. I suppose it was from her having another girl to talk to. Finn and Junko on the other hand liked to pull a couple of pranks with me on Radaar. It was fun, and we even considered ourselves the 'prankster trio.' Aerrow was being nice to me...almost like a big brother, and Radaar...I think he only liked me for the chin scratching I gave him becasue I hadn't seen him since then. Now Stork was a different story. I wasn't sure if he was scared of me or just didn't like me. He was always moving somewhere if I was near. If I went to grab something near him, he flinched. I could understand him being nervous around me, I mean, I was a stranger, but this was ridiculous!

"Hey, Aerrow?" I asked, as we walked back towards the main part of the Condor.

"Yeah, what is it?" he asked in that brotherly way.

"I was thinking...you know...about Stork." I said softly. "What does he think of me? Does he hate me?"

"Oh, so that's what's been bothering you."

"Was it obvious?"

"Sort of. Piper picked up on it pretty quick." I gave a heavy sigh and let my shoulders droop.

"Hey, don't worry about it." Aerrow said with a chuckle as he put his hand on my shoulder. "Look, Stork is a little...well...paranoid. He's still just a bit weary around you. Give him some time." I nodded my head.

"Okay, thanks Aerrow." Once we got back to the mainroom, we felt the whole airship shake.

"Um, Aerrow..." Stork said from behind the wheel. "We've got a few Cyclonians shooting at us!"

"Right." Aerrow said with a commanding voice. He strode over to the controls.

* * *

Cyclonians circled around the Condor, the shots firing at random.

"What do we do?" Finn started to chant as he ran around. Stork started to flinch everytime Finn passed him. Aerrow stood by the window as the chaos outside ensued.

"Stork." he said suddenly. "Take us down there!" Aerrow was pointing at a dark canyon. It gave off a feeling of forboding that made Kira shiver inwardly.

"But that's the Black Gorge." Stork pointed out. His gaze nervoucly darted from the Cyclonians, to the Black Gorge and back. "Going into the Black Gorge could be...gulps...chatastrophic."

"Stork, we have no choice. Besides, a quick short cut couldn't hurt." Stork heaved a heavy sigh just as the Condor gave another dangerous shake.

"Fine."

The great airship lurched towards the right as the green merb made a sharp turn. Everyone fell to the other side of the Condor. Poor Kira was stuck under Finn and Junko. Her heart was beating so fast as the adrenaline pumped through her vains.

* * *

The heart monitor started to beep eratically as the girl's heartbeat picked up. Doctors and nurses poured in moving frantically to the tune of the heart monitor.

"Her adrenaline levels are skyrocketing!" one nurse said.

"Her blood pressure is way too high!" said another.

"People, please!" the head doctor called over all the chaos. "I don't want to lose this girl! Let's --" He was cut off bu a long ear-splitting scream.  
Kira Lockhart's face looked peaceful and serene save her mouth opened in a loud shriek. As everyone had their hands over their ears, no one heard the heart monitor play on long note.

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep

Kira's mouth closed, and her screaming ceased. Her heartbeat had started up again and began to slow to ints normal pace. What the hell was going on in her head?


	9. Chapter 9

"Oww." I whined while rubbing my head. "That hurt."

"I told you taking a short cut through the Black Gorge would be chatostrophic!" came Stork's muffled voice. I slipped out from the pile of Storm Hawks and saw that the green carrier piolot was laying on his face with his feet dangling over his head.

"Maybe so, but we needed to get away from those Cyclonians." Aerrow said while standing up. I went over to try and help Stork get up, but he quickly got up and walked away.

"Alright, let's just find a way to get out of here." Piper said. We all nodded except for Stork. He just went over to the controls and tried to make the Condor move.

"Uh, Piper?" the green piolot said. "It's not working." Piper was over at a large metal furnace type thing with spinning crystals inside. They gave off a dim glow.

"The crystals have been drained of all energy!" Piper exclaimed. Slowly, the glow of the crystals started to fade. "Wait! I have a solar crystal that could charge up the ship!"

"Heh, heh. Uh, Piper?" Finn spoke up, and all attention was directed towards the blonde. "Do you remember that beach party we had?"

"You used my only solar crystal for a barbeque?!" Piper snarled.

"Uh, guys?" Junko said causing everyone to look at him. Just as Aerrow was about to say something, there was a rattling amongst the gadgetry on the ship. There was a scuffle of little feet. Junko and Finn let out a pathetic scream, and then...

"Aw! It's really cute!" Junko said. "And you were afriad of it, Finn!"

"Huh...yeah right." Junko was holding a strange little, furry creature. His fur was a light orange with patched of white. Its wide eyes had red irises. Two of its teeth were bucked and it made adorable purring noises. Something about it made me uneasy.

"I think I'll call you mister Cheepers." Junko proclaimed.

"I wouldn't trust the natives of the Black Gorge." Stork said as he cowered behind Piper. "The Black Gorge is very tretchorous." Stork glared at the fuzzy little thing.

"Yeah, but what are we going to do?" I asked, causing Stork to look directly at me. "We have no way of getting out of here with the Condor and Piper's crystal out of commission."

"Kira's right." Aerrow said suddenly. "We need to do something." Stork gave everyone a hesitant nod. The green piolot rushed to his quarters to retrieve a rolled up paper.

"Here. It's the map of the Black Gorge. We can follow this map to get to this giant ridge to allow Piper's crystal to recharge in the sunlight. We have limited time though." Stork explained. "Plus, it's very dangerous. There are metal-eating vulka-bats, giant meat-eating plants, living tar, giant eels, and giant poison-toothed spiny gorge sloths." I looked over at the small furry creature in Junko's arms when Stork mentioned the gorge sloths. It looked so cute and fluffy, but something about those red eyes made me nervous. Out of nowhere, the Condor shook violently. I could hear scratching sounds as the heads of strange creatures started to poke through.

"It's those vulka-bat thingies!" Finn yelled as some of the 'bats' flew in the ship. Stork hid under the table.

"They're goin to eat the whole ship if we don't do something!" Piper yelled while trying to fight off the numerous vilka-bats.

"Wait! Junko's room is full of metal junk!" Finn proclaimed, and in a flash, the largest member of the Storm Hawks was baracading himself in front of his room.

"No! I need this stuff!" Junko prtested.

"What could you possibly do with all those scraps of metal?" Aerrow asked, and Junko remained quiet. We quickly ransacked Junko's room of all its metal and made a nice pile outside for the creepy bat thingies.

* * *

The metal-eating vulka-bats hovered around a rather large pile of scrap metal while a very sad wallop watched as they devoured it all.

"I feel like I just lost a part of me." Junko whimpered. Mock tears streamed from his eyes.

"Don't worry big guy." Aerrow said to his friend. "It was for the good of the team."

"Well, since you all have everything under control, I'm going to go hide -er- protect, the Condor." Stork said while walking away.

"But Stork!" Piper called after the merb. "You're the only one who knows the area well enough."

"Piper's right." Aerrow agreed.

"Piper's good at navigation! Have her do it! Just avoid all areas with a skull and crossed bones." Piper held up the map of the Black Gorge in front of Stork. It was covered in symbols of death.

"Stork, please help us." Kira said in a sweet voice that almost made Stork shiver.

"Fine." he sighed.

"So, how much time do we have to get to tha ridge?" Aerrow asked.

"About two hours."

"Well then, let's get going." Aerrow said, and the group started on the dark path ahead.


	10. Chapter 10

* * *

Walking. I hate wealking. Especially when I'm walking along a dark path in a creepy gorge with thingstrying to eat us. Okay, well Stork was leading us through the Black Gorge, and we had an unfortunate encounter with some giant meat-eating plants. We all managed to cross the bog...all of us except Finn that is. He _did_ manage to get across, but there were some _'dificulties'_. One of the plants woke up and decided to take a bite out of my blonde friend, and a chain reaction was started. The mighty plants reared their large heads; Finn, whose head was half-way down the beast's throat, was being snapped at from all sides.

"Finn!" Junko had yelled. "I'll save 'ya buddy!" His knckles were glowing green, and he went to save his best friend. The large plant let go of Finn, allowing the half-eaten Storm Hawk to escape with Junko. As we got away, Mister Cheepers walked up to us unscathed.

"Hey look guys!" It's Mister Cheepers!" Junko exclaimed as he took the fuzzball into his arms. "How'd you make it over here without getting hurt?" The furry creature pointed toward a large hole in the wall behind us.

"Hey Stork! Mister Cheepers made it to the other side safely by his little short cut! Maybe we could..."

"No!" Stork said. "Taking a short cut could have chatostrofic results! The best way to go is to stick to the map!" Mister Cheepers made adorable purring noises while trying to get us to go into the short cut.

"Sorry Mister Cheepers. Stork knows what he's doing." Junko said to the furball and continued on his way with the rest of us.

* * *

The group of Storm Hawks marched through the Black Gorge under the lead of the green merb. They ran into large beasts. Each time, Finn managed to let the monsters get a good bit out of him.

"It's my flavor! They can't resist me!" He kept chanting. "I'm delicious!" Mister Cheepers somehow figured out a way around the horrible creatures.

"Ya know Stork," Aerrow started. "I think that Junko may have made a good point with the whole 'short cut' thing."

"No!" Stork spazzed. "Taking a short cut could lead to our untimely demise!"

"But Stork! Mister Cheepers has strayed off teh map already, and he's fine." Kira said. She locked eyes with the merb, and a sigh emitted from Stork's lips.

"Fine." He said with a tone of exasperation, and the Storm Hawks followed Mister Cheepers through the dark crevaces of the Black Gorge.

* * *

The Storm Hawks team were about to round the corner to the canyon when Stork came out in front.

"Don't go any further!" He gasped. "Who knows what devastatingly evil thing could be beyond this point. Shield you eyes." His hands covered his tightly shut eyes.  
Junko carefully moved Stork, and everyone walked on. Beyond the canyon bend was a sight to behold.

"Oh," Stork said. "I guess I was wrong." There was a small heard of creatures just like Mister Cheepers. The group was in awe by their cuteness.

"Okay," Piper suddenly said as she stood. "we have a limited amount of time before the sun stops shining, so I'm going to charge up." Piper went running towards the beam of light to charge up the solar crystal. Everyone crowded around the small fuzzballs while Piper left. Something in Mister Chepper's eyes made Radaar freak out. Aerrow's eyebrows raised.

"What's wrong with you buddy?" he asked, but his question was answered when the rays of sunlight struch Mister Cheepers and his commrades. Their bodies grew and shifted into that of the giant poison-toothed spiny gorge sloth.

"Uh, Piper?" Aerrow said. "I think it's time to go." Him and the others were slowly backing away.

"Hold on! I don't have a full charge!" Piper called as she turned to face her teammates. The gorge sloths were making their way towards her. "On second thought, I think that's good enough." She ammended and tried to get out of their. She managed to hop on the heads of the giant gorge sloths and got to her tam. Everyone ran; the sloths were right on the tails of the Storm Hawks.

"We have to follow the map!" Stork yelled to everyone. "It's the only sure way to get out of here!" The others nodded, adn they continued through the giant eels, living tar and the giant meat-eating plants. The whole way back, the sloths used the short cuts to avoid teh bigger beasts.

"That's why they use the short cuts!" Aerrow said. "They don't like it here either!" Just as everyone got out of the bog with the giant meat-eating plants, one last sloth stood in front of the Storm Hawks.

"Wait!" Junko called out to the monster. "Mister Cheepers it's me, your friend." For a split second, the giant gorge sloth portrayed a look that would have been cute had it still looked like the former Mister Cheepers; however, that moment didn't last long. Luckily, a giant meat-eating plant took 'Mister Cheepers' into his mouth, allowing the Storm Hawks to make it back to the Condor.

* * *

Inside the Condor was chaos as we desperately tried to escape the Black Gorge.

"Hurry up Piper!" Finn yelled as some of the vulka-bats started to poke through. The solar crystal was placed with the fuel crystals, and the Condor roared to life.

"Let's get out of here!" I yelled. Stork, after flinching at my yell, jumped for the controls and brought the Condor up. Higher and higher we climbed, and once we were in the sun did the vulka-bats leave. Everyone was safe, and everything was normal again...well, as normal as things could ever get.

"They wanted to _eat_ Finn! But you wouldn't let them, would you Condor?" Finn said as he coddled one of the navigation instruments. I rolled my eyes before walking over to Stork. I gently placed my hand on his shoulder. He jumped a little and whirrled around to look at me. A nervous twitch tugged at the corner of his eye.

"Hey, I just wanted to say...thanks. If we had listened to you about Mister Cheepers and the whole Black Gorge deal, we wouldn't have had to run for our lives." I said. "You really saved us."

Stork stared at me a while longer before saying "Okay." and turned away. A smile had my lips turned upwards.


	11. Chapter 11

The clock ticked away the seconds. The smell of ssterility stung Jayme Lockhart's nose.

"Mommy." she said quietly. "It smells so weird here."

"I know, honey." Jesse cooed. "Just try and ignore it." The mother and daughter walking into the hospital room too see Kira still tucked into the covers. Mrs. Lockhart let out a small sob at the sight of her unconscious daughter. The heart monitor was like a metronome as its steady beats echoed throughout the room. Jayme stared silently at her sister's limp body; Mrs. Lockhart let the tears flow down her face. Everything seemed so fragile and breakable; the two jumped slightly when a doctor knocked lightly against the doorframe.

"Mrs. Lockhart?" he asked. "May I speak to you outside?" Mrs. Lockhart gave a curt nod and got up to follow the doctor.

"What's going on? Is she going to be okay?" Mrs. Lockhart asked. He voice quivered as she tried to hold back a sob.

"I'm not sure." the doctor confessed. "It's been a week, Mrs. Lockhart. That head on collison caused Kira to fracture her spine in three different places. There's even a blood clot in her head." Jesse Lockhart's eyes widened with every word, and the tears were flowing more freely. The doctor was trying to be sypathetic, but he ended coming off as awkward. He wanted to be able to do something, he truely did. He just didn't know what to do.

"It's a wonder that girl is still alive."

* * *

Kira was sitting quietly up in her bunk reading. She thought it would be a good idea to learn more about Atmos, so she borrowed one of Piper's navigation books. A sneeze interrupted her reading.

"Huh." she said aloud. "I guess someone is talking about me."


	12. Chapter 12

It had already been a week since Kira had joined up the Storm Hawks. She was already learning more and more about crystals and navigation under Piper's teachings. Of course, when ever the Cyclonians came around, Kira's education was put on hold, and she was left behind with Stork. It wasn't exactly fun considering that all Stork did was rush around while trying to keep the Condor steady.

"I want to help!" Kira said as soon as Aerrow and the others came back on the Condor.

"What are you talking, Kira?" Aerrow asked. "You've been doing a good job by working with Piper."

"Yeah, but I want to go out and fly with you guys!"

Aerrow just looked at Kira with a strange look before saying, "No."

* * *

"Aw, come _on_!" I whined. "Please? All I've been doing is learning about navigation and crystal works!"

"It's too dangerous." Aerrow retorted.

"But Aerrow, textbooks can only take me so far. I need field experience, and you guys can help!"

"How are you going to defend yourself?"

"You can teach me combat skills."

"Who's going to teach you how to fly?"

"You, Piper or Finn could." Aerrow let out an exasperated sigh.

"I'll think about it." he said, and I let out an excited squeal.

"Oh, really?!"

"Yeah. I'll think about it." Aerrow said. "However, if I say no, you can't complain."

"And if you say yes, I'll commit to it one-hundred and ten percent!" I said with a smile.

"Alright. I'll hold you to it." he said, and he then turned to talk to Stork. Piper went to go look at maps, Junko was working with pipes and wheels, so that left...

"Hey Finn." I said casually as I moved towards the table.

"Hey Kira." he replied as he lazily followed me. "I heard that you wanted to help us fight against the Cyclonians." I nodded. "That's cool."

"Yeah, but Aerrow is acting like an overprotective brother." I complained.

"That's because he's just trying to make sure you're safe." Piper suddenly said from right next to us. I hadn't realized that she was using _this_ table for her navigational tactics. "It's only been a week, but Aerrow has kind of grown attached to you."

"What do you mean?"

"Well," Finn jumped in. "Aerrow has been with us for..."

"Finn, do you even know what you're talking about?" Piper inquired. Finn made a motion as if to say something, but then he let a small 'no' squeak out. "I didn't think so."

"Will someone please tell me?"

"Well," Piper started. "Aerrow is actually the only direct descendant of the original Storm Hawks." My mouth just dropped. I mean, the original Storm Hawks were supposed to be really great, and Aerrow had some serious skills. I guess it was just so overwhelming to hear it said. "Yeah," Piper continued. "Ever since the Dark Ace, the sky-knight for the Cyclonians, took down the original Storm Hawks, we've been all Aerrow's got."

"Wow." I said in awe as I let my gaze drift towards the red-headed sky-knight. "I had no idea."

"Don't worry about it so much, Kira." Piper said to me as she let her hand rest on my shoulder. "If Aerrow gets a little overprotective, it's only because he cares." I gave Piper a quick nod, and her, Finn and I had a very animated chat.

* * *

It had been about three days since I had talked to Aerrow about me flying and fighting with the team. He said he wanted to meet everyone in the hangar. Naturally, I was excited, nervous and surprisingly a little nauseous, but I tried to keep a straight face. I failed miserably.

"Ooh, I can't wait!" I squealed when I was half-way to my destination. In my frenzy of excitement, I hadn't noticed Stork right next to me. He let out a small yelp.

"Oh, sorry Stork." I said. He just grumbled a little. "So," I said trying to strike up casual conversation. "do you have any idea as to what this meeting is about?"

"Not really."

"Oh..."

"All I know is that it has something to do with you." Stork said, and that hyped up my curiosity.

"Really? Why does is have something to do with me?" I asked. Stork was about to say something, but the sound of the doors opening told us that we were at the hangar. We walked in and sat with the others. Aerrow stood next to something that was covered.

"Okay." Aerrow said. "You all know that Kira wants to join us in the fight, right?" Everyone nodded. "Well then, I've got a surprise for you." With that, the sheet was taken off and there stood an air skimmer. The metal shone slightly, and I was in awe.

"Aerrow, is that really for me?" I squeaked.

"Sure is." I squealed again. "But," Aerrow interrupted. "I want you to work with Stork so you can get a feel for the controls." The bubble of happiness just blew up in my face. Stork?! Of all people, why did it have to be the guy who hated me?

"Aww! Aerrow, why can't you or Piper help? Why not even Finn of Junko?" I whined.

"Kira, it has to be Stork. He's the one who built it."

"But he hates me!"

"Well, she obviously doesn't want to work with me, so I'll be driving the Condor." Stork said as he got up to leave. Radaar dashed in front of the door and growled a bit. Stork sneered at him

"Now hold on Stork, Kira." Aerrow said, and Stork and I turned to face him. "I know you two may not get along that well, but here's your chance to." He had me with that. It would be a great way to learn more about Stork. I sighed.

"Alright." Stork agreed as well.

"Good." Aerrow said with a light smirk. "Stork will start teaching you tomorrow."


	13. Chapter 13

The sun rose, and rays of light shone through the hospital windows. Her face looked peaceful, and the light left her unphased. Will Kira ever wake up?

She woke up with a less than pleased dispositon. She slowly dressed in the clothes that her roommate provided her. A tired sigh escaped her lips. It was quite obvious that Kira didn't want to deal with anyone that day. Never the less, she trudged down towards the bridge.

"Oh, hey Kira." Aerrow greeted warmly. "Stork is waiting in the hangar for you." Kira grumbled at the fourteen-year-old, and headed towards her destination. The sound of Aerrow's light chuckles echoed off the metal interior of the Condor.

* * *

I walked into the hangar to see Stork tinkering with my air skimmer.

"Yo." Stork jumped a little then turned to look at me.

"Hi." he said. I walked over and sat down next to him. He looked a little nervous.

"So, what do I need to know?" I asked, and Stork went on about the different parts of the skimmer. I heard about the first parts, but then I started to daydream. I could just see myself gliding through the air. I could only imagine how amazing it must be.

_Kira._

My name echoed through my mind. I wonder who said it...

_Kira._

It came again. Whoever was saying my name had a cute voice.

_Kira._

Again, the voice said my name. This time is was so much clearer it was almost as if there was someone right next to me.

_Kira._

That voice sounded so familiar. My daydream started to fade away, and instead of clear, blue skies, I saw...

"Stork!" I yelped, and we both jumped away from each other. "What the heck is wrong with you?!" Stork flinched. "You can't just scare the life out of someone like that!" He flinched again.

"You fell asleep."

"Well, I'm _sorry_!" I huffed. It got real quiet. I was looking away, but I could feel Stork's stare. If it were any other person, I would have felt bad for snapping at them, but this was the guy who hated me. "Ya know what? Let's just get this over with." I said, and we began the lesson.

* * *

I was in the kitchen. Stork had taught me a little about what powers a skimmer. It linked in with all the stuff about crystals that Piper taught me, but it was still pretty boring. Now I was in the kitchen eathing a sandwich. I mean, learning about air skimmers actually can work up my appetite. ell, as I was eating, guess who decided to stop by? Stork jusmped a little when he saw me, but he soon recovered. He made a bee-line for a crate that was stacked with a few others; a plate was already in his hand. After Stork lifted the lid of the crate, I felt like gagging.

"EW! Stork, what is that?!" I said. The sound was muffled, because my hands were covering my mouth and nose.

"Merb cabbage." He said dreamily, and I giggled a little bit.

"I take it that that's your favorite food?" I asked with an amuzed tone of voice. Stork nodded, and we both ate in silence.

"I don't hate you." He said out no where. I looked over at him in shock.

"Really?" I asked, and he nodded. "Look Stork, I feel aweful for the way I treated you, so...I'm sorry." He gave me a weak smile, and I giggled a bit. He looked kind of cute with that sheepish smile on his face.

* * *

A light blush crossed Kira's cheeks at the thought. Luckily, Stork didn't notice.

"So," Kira said. "I never got the chance to ask this...how old is everyone?" Stork raised an eyebrow at the girl and looked into her eyes.

_'Is she really this strange?'_ he wondered to himself.

"Well, Finn, Piper and Aerrow are all fourteen." Stork said aloud. "And I think that Junko is too. Radaar is about three..."

"So, how old does that make you?"

"Sixteen."

"Cool, I'm sixteen too!" Stork looked at the girl with a strange look on his face.

"I thought you didn't know much about yourself." Stork stated in a questioning tone. Kira began to fiddle with her fingers, and her cheeks were steadily turning red.

"Well, I don't know why, but I feel particularly close to you, so when you said you were sixteen, I thought that I must be too."

"Oh." The conversation continued like this for about two hours, and then they went their seperate ways leaving Kira questioning her feelings.


	14. Chapter 14

Easy going music played from a record player for all to hear. Everyone was relaxed and moving to the beat as they worked. Aerrow was bopping his head along to the good music while helping Radaar with some of the technical workings of the ship. Junko was bouncing along as he stabalized the Condor. Stork was actually the most relaxed. His paranoia seemed to have dissolved as he lightly danced around the controls while humming the tune of the wordless song. Piper was looking at some maps while dancing on the balls of her feet; Kira just sat at the table staring into space.  
Out of no where, there was the wretched sound of the needle scratching against the record, and a guitar echoed through the speaker. The heavy bass backdrop made everyone feel it within themselves.

"Uh Finn?" Piper asked in a slightly agitated tome of voice. "Whatcha' doing?"

"I'm putting on soem decent music." He replied. He had his air guitar going as he strummed along to the chords of the song.

"Well Finn, that was my favorite song." Piper retorted. The record player needle scratched against the vinyl as Piper switched it back to her song. The easy beat of Piper's light jazz styled music echoed throughout the room. It didn't take long for Finn to switch the record player over to his music again. "Finn! Cut it out! Besides, it's my turn." Piper switched it back to her song in a huff. She was getting more upset about the issue, but when Finn left the music alone, a smile returned to her face. Well, at least until Finn switched it over to his song again.

"Now, why would you want to listen to that when you could listen to the musical stylings of Finn?" Piper ripped the record out of the player and gave Finna a death glare. Kira came out of her daydream to look at the two quarelling Storm Hawks.

"Finn you are so childish!" Piper snapped. "You are inconsiderate, you don't care about others, and your music grates on my nerves!" The vinyl record was thrown like a frisbee only to be caught by someone. Her amethyst hair was cut short. Her body was thin and agile looking. Her eyes had a certain intensity.

"Problem with your record player?"

* * *

Piper gasped. "Starling! What are you doing here?" The woman known as Starling walked towards us all.

"I have a mission." She said. Her gaze drifted across the room before landing on me. "And who are you?"

"Starling, this is Kira." Aerrow said as he walked towards Starling and me. "She's a Storm Hawk like us."

"Really? That's interesting...what shills does she have?" Nobody really said anything.

"I can navigate fairly well, and I know a lot about crystals." I said.

"What other skills do you have?" Starling questioned. I got quiet.

"Nevermind that." Aerrow interrupted. "What's the mission? The Storm Hawks are here to help!"

"Acctually," Starling said in her accented voice. "I'm only going to need you, Aerrow." The younger sky-knight looked shocked for a split second, but a serious face took its place.

"I'll still want the Condor nearby just in case." Starling quickly nodded in agreement. Aerrow then turned to us. "Alright everyone, I want you on tactical alert." he said. "Piper, you're in charge." Finn let out a groan.

"Man! How come Piper's always in charge?!" Finn whined. "When is it going to be my turn?"  
"Well Finn," Aerrow started. "Piper has had more experience and..."

"Finn can do it." Piper stated lightly. Aerrow looked at Piper almost as if she were crazy. "How else can he gain experience?"

"Alright then." Aerrow said. "Finn's in charge." Aerrow looked over at Starling. "So what are we doing?"

"I'll tell you on the way." Starling said as she turned to leave. "Let's go." Aerrow nodded and then followed after Starling, and we were all left to the mercy of Finn.


	15. Chapter 15

* * *

Starling and Aerrow rode their skimmers on the ground. They darted around trees and bushes.

"So, Starling!" Aerrow called to his teammate. "Why exactly are we on Terra Bogaton?"

"We're here to rescue a couple of raptors." Starling said calmly without tearing her eyes from what was in front of her.

"Why are we helping the raptors?" Aerrow asked. A smirk curled Starling's lips upwards.

"These raptors are tired of being under Repton's rule."

"So what do we do?"

"I am going to need you to go underground to the secret raptor lab. I am going to distract Repton."  
Aerrow gave Starling a quick nod, and their skimmers parted and went their seperate ways.

* * *

"WHOO HOO!" Finn cheered. "Alright, I'm in charge, and I say it's time to party!"

"Finn, we are supposed to be on tactical alert." Piper said. Finn let out a sigh.

"Piper," Finn started. "As team leader..."

"_Acting_ team leader." Stork interupted.

"Whatever." Finn grumbled. "As acting team leader, I say we should have fun while on tactical alert. Junko, go get the grill." Junko ran off to go get the grill. All the while, I just watched what was going on. I could tell this was going to go bad. Junko came back to teh hangar with a grill. Piper stpped the grill with her foot.

"Hey Junko, whatcha doing?" Piper asked with a slight glare on her face.

"Junko, put the grill there." Finn said while ignoring Piper.

"Junko, put the grill away." Piper hissed.The two went back and forth, and Junko started to get confused.

"Uh...guys?" I said. No one was listening.

"As acting leam leader," Finn started. "I say we are having a high alert party! Now Piper, you are in charge of decorations. Junko, Fire up the grill, and Stork," The blonde turned to face our green piolot. "you are in charge of cooking. Don't be cheap on the sauce." Stork let out a sigh.

"This isn't going to end well." he grumbled.

"Hey, Finn." I said. "What should _I_ do?" Finn scratched his head before figuring out what he wanted me to do. He had a weird smile on his face, and I had no idea what to expect.

* * *

Aerrow crept quietly in an underground tunnel. Starling had been caught by Repton, and Aerrow was left to free teh raptor scientists. The red-head reached a metal door. An electrical current blocked aerrow from getting in. Luckily, a slot opened to reveal a pair of eyes.

"Password?" A raspy voice said, who's owner was shielded by the door.

"Password?" Aerrow questioned. "I'm the sky-knight you called for. Starling sent me."

"Starling?" the raptor asked. The electrical current was shut off, and the door opened allowing Aerrow to walk in.

* * *

I had a huge scowl on my face. Finn had me wearing a cheerleading outfit and 'cheering' compliments. To say the least, Finn had gone power mad. Case in point...Stork had already been 'banished', and Piper was close to it.

"I declare Piper, banished!" I heard Finn say, and I snapped.

"Finn, would you stop it?! If you keep banishing people, then who is going to help maintain the ship?!"

"Kira, is that dessent?" Finn asked teasingly.

"I DON'T CARE!" I yelled, and I left with Piper. "Wow." Piper mused. "I never thought you would blow up like that at Finn."

"Someone had too." I said while smirking. "Besides, I hate this outfit." Piper abd I giggled. Just as we reached our room, we heard a muffled sound that sounded like 'banished' and the loud stomping of feet. "I guess Junko's been banished too."

"Quick," Piper said. "open up the vent. I have an idea."

* * *

Starling's purple glowing nun-chucks slashed and clanged against Repton's gold boomerang. The whole time she kept her eye on her prize. The purple and chrome shield of the Intercepters shone in the gleam of their weapons.

* * *

Piper, Kira and Stork were crawling toward Junko's room through the vent system. Piper lead the way while Kira and Stork crawled behind. Having no time to change out of the cheerleading outfit, Kira was quick to notice her bare arm brushed against Stork's every now and again. The green merb tried ignoring it...that is until both his and Kira's hand brushed into each other. An unfamiliar heat rose in Stork's cheeks.

* * *

Aerrow sat around in the underground lab of hte raptor scientists. The raptors were diligantly repairing any piece that fell of their rocket propelled hot air balloon. An uneasy feeling was settling in Aerrow's stomach. What was taking Piper and the others so long?

* * *

We had managed to get into the engine room. My cheeks were still flushed from blushing so much. Even Stork's cheeks looked a little pink.

"Alright, " Piper said, breaking me away from my thoughts. "we are going to mess with Finn a bit. Stork, you and Junko mess with the Condor a bit. Kira, you're gonna help me."

* * *

Finn sat with his feet propped up against the controls.

"Nothing to it." He mused. Suddenly, so many things started going wrong. The Condor was going haywire. Finn grabbed the intercom microphone. "Piper! Kira! Help me!"

"Sorry Finn." Kira's calm voice played from the intercom. "We're banished."

"You're not! I'm done being in charge! Just help me!"

"We'll thing about it." Piper said. While Finn continued to panic, the other Storm Hawks put the Condor back together and headed towards the bridge.

* * *

"So," Repton chuckled. "You're one of the Intercepters."

"You didn't get all of us that day." Starling growled before lunging towards Repton.

Piper was at the table with a map of Bogaton. Finn was at the blaster with Kira by his side. Stork and Junko worked to fly the Condor. As they came over Terra Bogaton, canons came up, and Finn started blasting away.

* * *

As Finn started shooting canons, I saw a balloon rise up.

"What's that?" I asked while pointing to it.

"Don't worry about that." Finn said. "Jut help me out!" He kept shooting the canons that popped up on Bogaton. The balloon continued to rise away from the terra. After all the canons were shot down and the balloon was far enough away from the terra, Stork got Aerrow and started to fly away. Finn was scrubbing away at the floors when Aerrow walked in. He and Piper exchanged a look that explained Finn's power trip. he doors opened, and Starling stepped in. We all noticed the shield she was carrying.

"Now you know why I couldn't ask the rest of the Storm Hakws." She said to Aerrow, but it was loud enough for all of us to hear.

"The Storm Hawks would have backed you up." Starling gave a sad smile. "You are welcome to stay."

"I know." Starling said and then left.

* * *

On a tiny speack of land, there was a flag. The insignia was the same as on her shield. A fire burned in her violet eyes. It would never be doused.


	16. Chapter 16

He was bent down on one knee. His master's back was to him, but he knew his presence was acknowledged.

"My sources tell me that the Storm Hawks have a new memeber." came the slick voice of his young master. "What do you know of this?" she asked.

"All I know is what I've heard." the man said. "However, Repton claims to have seen a newcomer assisting the Storm Hawks' sharpshooter when Bogaton was hit."

"Hmmm." the young master hummed. "I want to know more about this newcomer." she announced. The man stood up.

"I will go and pay the Storm Hawks a little visit then."

"No." the girl said to the older man. The commanding tone in her voice made him stop. "We will send someone else to test this person's strength." The man's brow furrowed a bit at his master's decision. Nevertheless, he had no choice but to obey his master.

"Yes," he said. "Master Cyclonis."

* * *

"Okay, now lean right with the handlebars and hold it till you are right-side-up again." Aerrrow yelled over to me. We were out flying our skimmers. It was so much harder than I thought! I mean, it took me almost fifteen minutes to start up my skimmer. I'm still not entirely sure I know how to do it right. Well, either way, I was flying now.

"Kira! Lean right!" Aerrow yelled to me, and I leaned sharply over to the right. My skimmer started tumbling towards the right. I tried to get myself right-side-up again, but it felt like everything was locked in place. I could barely hear what Aerrow was yelling at me. Besides, a different voice was echoing in my mind. The voice reminded me of that man. The one who was standing in the white room with that woman and girl. His voice was so commanding, and there was ahint of panic in it.

_"Brake! Kira, BRAKE!!"_

My hands gripped the handlebars and jerked it to the left. As the skimmer moved back to an upright position, my body was being thrown around, and I felt like I was about to fall off. Finally, my skimmer was hovering in the air. Aerrow flew over; his face was slightly pale.

"Are you okay?" he asked. I nodded. I wasn't hurt or anything, but I was still a bit shaken up. "Let's head in. I think that's enough air time for you." Again, I nodded. We flew back to the Condor, and Aerrow flew close to me to make sure I was okay. He even helped me off my skimmer.

"Aerrow, I'm fine! Really!" I tried to assure him. "You don't have to help me off my skimmer."

"I know, but I want to make sure you're okay." he said. "You scared me." He looked really sad. I threw my arms around him in a warm hug. He was shocked to say the least.

"I'm safe." I said. "Thanks to you, Aerrow, I'm safe." His arms enveloped me, and he whispered a small thank you to me.

* * *

I walked onto the bridge to see Stork doing something weird to the controls.

* * *

"Stork? What are you doing?" Kira asked. Stirk jerked his head upwards and accidentally smacked his head. Kira quickly dashed over and knelt beside the hurt merb as his hands went to his aching head. The brunette smacked Stork's hands away and started to part his dark hair. His scalp had a small cut, and when Kira saw it, she stood up. "C'mon Stork." she said as she offered the merb help. "You're hurt. Let's go get it taken care of, okay?" Stork hesitantly took Kira's hand and allowed her to lead him to the hangar.

Her hand felt so warm agains his.

* * *

A couple bottles of anti-biotics were lined up by a crate that a certain green merb was sitting on. Kira stood behind Stork gently applying anit-biotics to his small wound. After she was done, Kita gently blew against Stork's would to ease the stinging. Chills ran up the merb's spine.

"There." Kira said sweetly. "I'm all done." Stork stood up and start to finger the area of his cut. Kira giggled. "Don't worry. I didn't inject you with anything bad. It's just anti-biotics." Kira showed Stork the bottle and the merb calmed down a bit.

"Oh...okay." he said. "Well, thanks for that...but now I have to get back to work."

"If you don't mind me asking," Kira started as she began walking back to the bridge with Stork. "What were you doing?"

"I was putting an auto-piolot button in the Condor." Stork said. "Of course I was adding a few extra features."

"I should have known." Kira laughed. The two kept on talking. Kira said by Stork as he installed the auto-piolot device. The button was green with a big 'A' on it. When Stork had finished, Kira pressed the button. The Condor's steering wheel started moving on its own in order to keep everything steady.

* * *

I was marvelling at the work that Stork had just done. He was a really skilled mechanic, I had to admit it. He was paranoid, skiddish and weird; however, he was kind and he had a strange sense of humor I couldn't help but like. A blush rose in my cheeks. I didn't actually like this guy...did I? I mean, it was Stork! Strange, paranoid, creepy, Stork! I couldn't possibly have a crush on Stork! Could I?

Before I was allowed to answer my personal question, the Condor was shaken by a violent tremor. The alarm went off, and everyone was running around amidst the chaos. Stork had turned off the auto-piolot and was steering the Condor. Everyone else was heading for the hangar, and I followed.  
Aerrow and the others were preparing their skimmers for battle. That had to mean that someone was attaking. I went to go get my skimmer, but Piper stopped me.

"Let us handle it." she said before hopping onto her heliscooter. The Storm Hawks flew off into the sky after the Cyclonians.


	17. Chapter 17

As they flew through the air, violin music met their ears. There was only one elite talon known to have violin music playing while she attacked.

"Ravess." Aerrow growled. The talon fleet flew towards the Storm Hawks in a V-formation with Ravess in the lead. Her magenta colored hair was rustled by the on going wind; her golden eagle eys were locked on her target.

"I see five Storm Hawks," Ravess said to herself. "but where is the new little chick?"

"What do you want Ravess?" Aerrow snapped. The talon archer laughed.

"I'm on a special mission." Ravess said. A smirk played across her full, red lips. Aerrow's scowl intensified. Ravess laughed wildly, and it was almost as if Aerrow was glaring more than just daggers at the Cyclonian. Just then, a surge of blue energy whizzed by. Everyone's attention was directed towards the Condor, and Ravess's lips curled into another smirk. On board the Condor was a young brunette girl firing at the Cyclonians. Ravess then turned to one of the other talons.

"You! Bring me that girl!" The leser talon gave a curt nod and flew off towards the Condor.

"Everyone!" Aerrow called to his commrades. "Protect the Condor! They're after Kira!!"

The Storm Hawks fought with Cyclonians with such vigor. Lasors ans surges of energy were flyig through the air as they mutual enemies tried to hit their target. Finn kept shooting his arrows at Ravess; hoever, the Cyclonian archer found a way to slice Finn's skimmer in half.

"Ah, man." the blonde whined before his decimated skimmer fell through the air along with him. Luckily, Junko was flying below, and Finn landed crotch first on the front of his skimmer.

Out of no where, a girl's voice met the ears of the Storm Hawks; the girl was screaming. One of the talons had managed to get past the Storm Hawks and grab Kira.

"Bring her here!" Ravess yelled as she flew away from Aerrow and the other Storm Hawks. "And keep them away!" The talon flew up to Ravess with Kira struggling to get free. The Cyclonian archer surveyed Kira under her harsh stare. Ravess was trying to see if she could find an shred of talent that could be useful for her master.

Dissapointed with what little potential she saw, her glare intensified. "There's nothing worth Master Cyclonis's interest here." The talon's grasp was released, and Kira fell through the sky screaming. Junko swooped down, but Kira didn't land on the skimmer. Luckily, Finn managed to catch her by the arm. He pulled her up onto the skimmer just in time to see the talons fly away.

"What just happened?" Kira wondered.

* * *

Raves walked up and kneeled to her master's back.

"Master Cyclonis." She said with her head bowed.

"What do you have to report to me, Ravess?" Master Cyclonis asked without turning to face her fellow Cyclonian.

"This new Storm Hawk," Ravess started. "is not a threat to your plan. The most we'd have to do is just clip her little wings." Master Cyclonis stayed silent for a little while before speaking.

"You better be right Ravess," Master Cyclonis hissed. "because if you're not, the consequences with be severe." Ravess bowed her head lower.

"Yes, Master Cyclonis."


	18. Chapter 18

It was hot. It was really hot. Terra Saharr had to be the driest, most arid place I've ever been to! There was a race today for all sky-knights, and Aerrow had to sign up to be a part of it. Right now, he was outside testing the skimmer for speed. I was under the tent with Stork and Piper. The tent was just as hot inside as it was outside in the sun. Sweat was already dripping from my brow.

"It's so hot."

* * *

Piper looked over towards Kira. The brunette's face looked flushed, and there was a light sheet of sweat on her forehead. Her eyelids were drooping over her honey brown eyes with exhaustion.

"Yeah," Piper agreed. "It's scorching." Finn and Junko walked in the tent. Finn's face was flushed, and even though it was really hot, Junko didn't look too affected by the heat.

"Junko…" Kira panted. "how come _you_ aren't affected by this heat?"

"Well, back on Terra Wallop, it's really warm, so I grew up used to the heat." He explained, and Kira scowled a bit. Lucky. She looked over at Stork to see if he was affected by the heat.

His green face was a shade darker, and there were beads of sweat on his forehead. He sat tinkering away at some mechanical trinket. Finn was complaining about striking up a bet he may lose, but Kira was tuning him out. She walked towards Stork and sat next to him. There was a little space between the two so that they wouldn't feel each other's body heat. Still, Stork's cheeks grew warmer still. Kira was starting to grow on the green merb.

As the days passed on, Stork had started to appreciate the girl's presence. She was kind, inquisitive, and was sweet on him. He even noticed the occasional glance she would send him when she thought he wasn't looking.

"So, what are you doing?" Kira asked the merb.

"Oh this?" he said pointing to the metal trinket. Kira nodded. "Oh, it's going to be a little night light that will go in the kitchen. It'll also serve as a vulka-bat repellant." A small smile crept onto Kira's face and a light blush played across Stork's cheeks. Kira was always so nice to him. Her smile made him feel just a little better. It was almost as if there wasn't everything out to get him. Almost. He was still constantly aware of everything around him, but Kira made it a little better.

An engine being revved could be heard from a distance, and it got louder and louder. Aerrow road into the tent on his skimmer and parked in front of Stork.

"I need to go faster." He stated as he dismounted, Radaar clung to his friend's shoulder. "If I'm gonna win, then I need to build up some more speed." Stork got up and started to tinker around with the skimmer.

"If I'm going to make your skimmer gain any more speed, then I'm going to need a power amp."

"But Stork, we don't have one." Aerrow stated, and the green merb heaved a heavy sigh. Finn, Junko and Kira decided to leave and get some food.

* * *

"I wonder what's going to help Aerrow go faster?" Junko wondered allowed.

"Maybe we should just put the Condor's engine on it." I snorted as the three made their way into the mess hall tent. The trio sat next to a man dressed in weird armor. I looked over at him to find that his red eyes were staring back at me. Chills ran down her spine, and she turned back to the food Junko had put down in front of us.

"That could work….but I think we should just stick to getting Stork that power amp." Finn said through a mouthful of food. Junko downed the rest of it. "Then we could win."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Came a gruff voice. A buff man with a red Mohawk stood smirking at my blonde friend. Finn made a scowl and motioned to the cook for another plate of food. "I'd save your money. Cuz you're gonna need it to pay for some soap and sponges when your boy loses!"

"Aha ha ha." Finn laughed sarcastically. "Laugh it up, but you'll be singing a different tune when the race is over."

"Well it might sound different." The buff man said. "Cuz I'll be singing it in my freshly clean cruiser!" He laughed and walked away leaving Finn a little upset. He again motioned for another plate of food when a coin spun across the counter towards us.

"Allow me." Said the man next to us. "I think you and I can help each other out."

* * *

"That's as fast as I can make it with what we had on hand." Stork said as he brought his welding mask up. "Now, if I just had a power amp…" At that moment, Finn and Junko came in and set a power amp down next to Stork. The green merb was so happy he actually started to stroke it as if it were a precious pet.

"How did you-?" Piper started, but Finn came up behind her and said, "Easy. Junko and I swapped our crystal converters for it." The wallop was tearing them off the skimmers as the blonde spoke. "Oh I know that look." Finn started up again. "You're about to tell me that this is a bad idea." Junko ripped up another converter. "Yeah I know." Finn continued on. "Without the converters, our rides are less than useless, but I got it covered. This amp will make Aerrow the fastest rider out there. So I'll get our converters from that purple Knight of Exerxxis and more."

"You traded with the Knight of Exerxxis?" Piper said slightly disappointed and slightly in shock. Finn just nodded his head. "And where's Kira?"

"With the Knight of Exerxxis. Why?"

* * *

I sat next to the Knight of Exerxxis just talking. His voice had charisma, and he was charming. He made me blush a little and laugh as he told me of exciting things he did. Flying around free as a bird with no squadron. I had fun talking to him, yet at the same time, there was this nagging sensation in the back of my mind that said being around him was a bad idea.


	19. Chapter 19

* * *

She played nervously with her hair as a blush creeped across her face. He casually leaned close to her. The two had drinks in front of them, and most of Kira's was being flicked into her face to keep cool. Very seldom did she take her fingers out of the cup to take a small sip.

"So, which squadron is yours?" The Knight asked.

"Oh, I'm with the Storm Hawks." Kira said sweetly as she flicked water into her face again. It trickled down her cheeks and dripped from her chin. The Knight seemed to perk up at the mention of Aerrow's squadron.

"Really now?" he said with a pleased tone of voice. "That's quite impressive." He took a sip of his own water; all the while his crimson eyes stayed on Kira. "Aren't you worried that they might not like you being near me?"

"Why would I be worried about that?" Kira said sweetly. "They're my friends. I don't think thay'll mind if I make some more in my travels, right?" A grin shrouded in shadow crept over his visage.

"Very true." He leaned closer. Kira blushed a bit, but she still couldn't help but have the feeling that this was the wrong thing to do.

Wind whipped through Aerrow's hair as he approached his friends. The speed the power amp gave his skimmer was exhilerating. He came to a sliding halt in front of Piper and the others. Adrenaline was pumping through his blood, and he couldn't contain his excitement.

* * *

"Did you see how fast I was going?!" He exclaimed. To his dismay, his teammates didn't seem as happy as he was.

"Yeah," Finn said. "and so did everyone else." Aerrow looked around to see that now everyone on Terra Saharr was installing a power amp to their ride. Aerrow's shoulders drooped as he let out a heavy sigh.

"Looks like we're going to have to do a lot of work if we want to win." Finn rushed to Aerrow's side.

"Don't worry buddy." he said. "Me and Junko've got ya covered." The blonde and the wallop then ran off and started to trade random odd parts to different people. A pile inside the Storm Hawks' tent started to form, and Stork was busy with the new modifications that needed to be made. As the merb worked, he wondered what was missing. Finn's scheming self was there along with Junko's happy-go-lucky self. Piper was impossible to miss. Stork could hear her cluck her tongue a mile away. And Aerrow and Radarr were in the corner of the tent talking about the skimmer. Well, rather Aerrow was talking and Radarr was making enthusiastic sounds. Everyone was here, weren't they? The feeling was nagging at Stork the whole time he worked. It wasn't until Piper mentioned Kira that it hit Stork. Did he actually miss her? She must be growing on him. She did have a fun and bubbly personality that anyone would miss. Stork could feel his cheeks warm up as he thought more about her.

* * *

I sat there wondering why I felt so nervous yet so at ease with the Knight of Exerxxis. He had this inviting and charismatic personality that had me giggling like a crazed fan girl and still, his eyes made me worried. They were bright crimson, and I remember them from somewhere. They were so familiar, and everything in my mind was telling me that he was bad news, but I still couldn't help but want to talk to him more. He was interesting. He seemed to go on so many adventures, and he was telling me about so many cool things he had done. I guess what was going on was that I had a school girl crush.

"Say," he said. "would you like to meet my squadron? They're quite an interesting band of men." Everything about this situation was screaming NO, but I couldn't help but meekly nod my head. As I walked with him to his tent, I started to regret my decision. Flashes of these girls walking off with strange men and getting raped started to flash in front of my mind. I started to shake.

"Uh, what are we going to do when we get to your tent?" I asked. I tried so hard to sound in control, but my voice still quiverred.

"Just meet my squadron." he chuckled. "What did you think we were going to do?" I blushed a little, but my tension didn't go away. We made it to his tent after a few minutes, but when he was about to let me in, someone popped out and whispered something urgent sounding to him. The Knight grasped my shoulders gently.

"I'll just be a minute." he said. "Wait right here for me." I nodded at him, and he quickly ducked into the tent. My rational side was telling me to run. It was saying that The Knight was bad news and that he'd soon prove it, but the part of me that was in control was to afraid to move.

* * *

Stork wiped the sweat from his brow as he screwed in the last bit of the Condor's engine. He set his tools down and slumped to the ground. His hands were so sore, and all he wanted was a break. Even a glass of water sounded nice even if that meant trecking all the way to the mess tent in the hot sun. Stork slowly got up and started on his way towards where the refreshments were being served. He patted at his pants pocket to make sure he had at least a little money to pay for a glass of water, but when he looked up, he caught site of a girl standing outside someone's tent. Stork didn't bother to look at which squadron it was or even look at her. He walked on as he felt a little hurt from seeing Kira somewhere other than in the tent curiously watching what he was doing.


End file.
